Key Whitewater Witness Implicates Lindsey

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AllPolitics, June 28) -- The star witness for the
prosecution in the second Whitewater trial testified today under intense
cross-examination that White House aide Bruce Lindsey conspired to keep
cash withdrawals of $22,500 and $30,000 hidden from the IRS during
President Bill Clinton's 1990 Arkansas gubernatorial campaign. Federal
law requires that cash transactions of more than $10,000 be reported.
Former Perry County Bank president Neal Ainley, who cut a deal with
prosecutors in exchange for his testimony, said Lindsey did not want to
file IRS reports but also refused Ainley's suggestion to withdraw lesser
amounts from multiple accounts in order to side-step the federal law.
Lindsey, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of bank
owners Herby Branscum, Jr. and Robert Hill, has denied allegations of
wrong-doing. Branscum and Hill are charged with failing to report these
transactions and reimbursing Clinton campaign contributors with the
bank's money.

Widened Ethics Probe On Newt Stopped

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 28) -- By a partisan 229-170 vote, House
Republicans blocked a Democratic resolution calling for further ethics
investigations into Speaker Newt Gingrich's (R-Georgia) activities. The
resolution would have given independent counsel James Cole the
jurisdiction to investigate allegations that Gingrich used at least $6
million in donations from six nonprofit organizations to advance his
political views. Tax-exempt foundations are federally prohibited from
taking part in partisan activities. Gingrich denied the allegations,
saying they were a Democratic attempt to draw attention away from
Congressional hearings on the FBI files scandal.

Go To Jail

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 28) -- A federal judge ordered former Rep.
Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) to begin serving his 17-month jail sentence
July 22 at a federal prison hospital in Minnesota. Rostenkowski, who
pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud at his congressional office,
is recovering from prostate surgery done in May. Once he has recovered,
Rostenkowski will serve the remainder of his sentence at the Oxford
Federal Correction Institute in Wisconsin, the closest facility to his
home in Chicago. Rostenkowski will be required to pay for his
incarceration costs. Luckily for him, the former congressman collects an
annual $97,000 pension.

Dueling Campaign Reforms

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 28) -- Just when a recent Supreme Court
ruling made financing a campaign easier, several House members pulled
together to write the most restrictive campaign reform measure yet. Rep.
Martin Meehan (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Connecticut)
and Rep. Linda Smith (R-Washington) are drafting a proposal that would
ban fund-raising efforts within 50 miles of the Capitol and curb the
unlimited donations of "soft" money from special interests. The Supreme
Court's ruling allows political parties to spend unlimited amounts on
getting their candidates elected, as long as their money is spent
independently of the candidate's campaign. Democrats complain that the
court's ruling helps the Republican Party, which raised $3.9 million in
May for its Senate races while the Democratic Party only brought in $1.6
million.

Senate Rejects House Abortion Ban

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 28) -- The abortion debate has carried
over into foreign aid appropriations, with the Senate rejecting House
stipulations that barred funding any private group supporting or
performing abortions. The Senate Appropriations unanimously approved
$410 million for population programs abroad, compared to the $72 million
provided in the House bill. Both figures are still down from the $535
million provided last year. Population control programs are a small part
of the $12.25 billion foreign aid bill that also includes funding for
Russia and other former Soviet states, aid to Egypt and Israel,
financing for the World Bank, and money to establish Radio Free Iran.